With Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and LenDale White in the pros, defending conference champ USC is vulnerable. While the Trojans are still the favorite to win the Pac-10 in 2006, the conference is much more open than in past years during Pete Carroll's regime. In all likelihood only the Pac-10 winner will earn a BCS birth, so it is all or nothing for contenders California, Oregon and Arizona State.

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Don't overlook UCLA, Oregon State or Arizona or you'll get surprised. In a conference where offense rules and defensive stops are few and far between, scoring is the key to winning. There is no lackluster program to look forward to playing, as this conference title should come down to the final weeks in the season.

Southern Cal was perfect in '05, running the table in conference play and shooting through to the BCS title game. Granted the conference standings don't speak to how dominant the Trojans were, but Oregon finished in second at 7-1 with the Bruins in third at 6-2. Cal and Arizona State had off years in the conference. The Golden Bears were a miserable 4-4 in conference play as were the Sun Devils. No one had an answer for the lightning quick Reggie Bush or the thunderous power of LenDale White, while Matt Leinart picked apart secondaries with the slightest of ease.

That was last year and this fall the bar is lowered a bit for the powerhouse of the west. This year the west will be won in a much different fashion.

CONFERENCE FAVORITE: USC Trojans (12-1 overall, 8-0 conference, 1st in Pac-10)

Returning Starters: 11 (4 offense; 6 defense, kicker)

Skinny: With the last two Heisman trophy winners gone to the NFL, USC needs new starters at both the quarterback and running back positions. Junior John David Booty will most likely head the offense under center while Chauncey Washington starts in the backfield. The wideout corps is the defining piece of the offense with both Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett back. Not much else returns, so the defense will be counted on to secure wins this year. Defensive end Lawrence Jackson leads the unit along with super sophomore Brian Cushing, last year starting as a true freshman at linebacker. However bettors should beware. USC was only 6-7 ATS, failing to cover about half of its giant lines.

Best Bet: Sept. 30, at Washington State. The Trojans have blown out WSU each of the past three years and with a smaller point spread they should easily cover the line here.

TEAM ON THE RISE: Arizona Wildcats (3-8, 2-6; 8th in Pac-10)

Returning Starters: 17 (7 offense; 9 defense, kicker)

Skinny: Third year coach Mike Stoops has this program headed in the right direction. After coming over from Oklahoma, he is installing his brother's system in the Pac-10. With an improving defense led by one of the better secondaries in the country, the Wildcats are ready for another improvement in the standings. Despite going 3-8 in 2005, UA helped out bettors, going 6-3-1 ATS. Willie Tuitama is just beginning to come into his own as a sophomore and is headed for a big year in Tucson. With all but two starters back for the defense, Arizona should be one of the few teams to D up in the Pac-10.

Best Bet: Nov. 4 at Washington State. Arizona is no longer at the bottom of the conference. Washington remains there. This year the Wildcats will seperate from the Cougars.

TEAM ON THE DECLINE: Stanford Cardinal (5-6, 4-4; T-4th in Pac-10)

Returning Starters: 17 (10 offense; 6 defense, punter)

Skinny: Signal caller Trent Edwards is back along with all but one starter from last year. After an up-and-down 2005, Stanford should take another step back, not because of lack of talent but because of all the teams that improved. The Cardinal defense was poor to say the least and that should hamper their progress again this year. Bettors were probably caught off guard to the degree with which Stanford covered spreads last year, finishing 7-3 ATS.

Best Bet: Sept. 16, vs. Navy. After winning at Navy last year, the Cardinal should get a another favorable outcome at home in 2006.

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TEAM TO WATCH OUT FOR: Arizona State (7-5, 4-4; T-4th in Pac-10)

Returning Starters: 15 (8 offense; 5 defense, punter, kicker)

Skinny: The offense is ready to continue its aerial attack. Both Sam Keller and Rudy Carpenter are deadly. Keller, a senior, is the likely starter, but sophomore Rudy Carpenter is just as good. Tailback Rudy Burgess and tight end Zach Miller are key threats and will light the scoreboards up all year. The defense lost several key defensive starters and should be a bit unreliable when called upon. Its one star is safety Zach Catanese.

Best Bet: Oct. 21, vs. Stanford. One of the big shocks last year in the Pac-10 was when Stanford shocked and demolished the Sun Devils. However, getting them at home this year should provide from an ASU win. They were a mediocre 6-6 ATS last year.